Having high visibility (HV) clothing for your workforce is a critical criteria when helping ensure the safety and wellbeing of employees.
Wearing the right HV clothing can prevent workers wearing the protective clothing from being injured and offer protection to companies who provide essential safety work wear.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides the latest facts and advice to help ensure the correct protective clothing is selected and crucially complies with rigid regulations.
The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at Work Regulations 1992 require a number of factors are taken into account to ensure the correct clothing is chosen for a particular task.
The choice of HV clothing needs to take into account artificial and ambient lighting conditions at the workplace and working environment, along with the effect of weather conditions including fog and snow.
A HV waistcoat may be all that’s required for some jobs however workers who are particularly at risk, from moving vehicles such as maintenance workers or professional recovery personnel, may need full body clothing to make them as visible as possible
It’s essential that any HV clothing provides protection during day and night and the general consensus is that the darker the conditions or worksite the greater the amount of HV clothing required.
BACA’s mission is to provide innovative work wear and safety solutions which keep customers smart and safe – the smart choice for safety.
Here are some top tips when choosing HV wear:
- Setting standards
All HV garments should be manufactured to meet a recognised standard. HV clothing should comply with the British Standard BS EN 471 for use in the workplace and must be CE marked to demonstrate it meets the European rules on the manufacture of PPE.
- Employer responsibilities
Must provide any necessary HV clothing free of charge to employees potentially exposed to significant risks in their safety. Keep HV wear clean and in good working order and checked before giving to workers. Provide storage facilities for clothing when not being worn, supervise employees to ensure they wear the clothing correctly and when necessary and provide necessary information, instruction and training to ensure employees to use HV clothing correctly including why, when and how to wear.
- Employee responsibilities
Must wear HV clothing provided and as instructed. Take necessary steps to look after clothing, check for and report any damage or defects to employer as ill-fitting or damaged HV will not provide proper protection.
- Colour coded and comfort factor
Day-glo or fluorescent yellow/orange are the most popular colour choices, often incorporating retroreflective material. Clothing should also be suitable for varying temperatures workers operate in taking into account seasonal changes as well.
- One size doesn’t fit all
It might be obvious however workers come in all shapes, sizes and heights. HV clothing should be comfortable and fit wearer properly and cause the least restriction possible to allow wearer to move freely. HV garments are often adjustable to provide an more individual fit.
